V 






CHARTER, ETC., 


OF THE 


PEACH ORCHARD COAL COMPANY. 


Ben Franklin Office Print. 




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THE TEACH ORCHARD COAL LANDS. 


These lands are situated in Lawrence county, Kentucky, 
on the Big Sandy River, about 40 miles from its mouth, 
which is 155 miles above Cincinnati. 

The tract is estimated to contain about 0,000 acres, all 
of which is so situated, that it may be sub-divided into 
smaller tracts to suit the wishes of purchasers or tenants. 

The veins of Coal are from 5 to 6 feet thick, and of the 
best quality of bituminous Coal. For generating steam 
and for domestic uses, I consider it decidedly superior to 
any other Coal in the West. 

It has now been in use in Cincinnati upwards of three 
years; and, in competition with all other Coals, has sold for 
2 to 3 cents per bushel more than Brownsville, Wheeling, 
Pomeroy and Coal Grove Coals, and for the same price as 
the best Pittsburgh and Youghiogheny Coals. 

1 think this Coal Tract is intrinsically worth more, per 
acre, than any Coal Tract in the vicinity of Pittsburgh. 
My reasons are as follows: 

1st. The quality of the Coal is superior to that of the 
Pittsburgh Coal. 

2d. It is 195 miles from the Peach Orchard Mines to 
Cincinnati, and 500 miles from the Pittsburgh Mines to 
Cincinnati. Of course, the expense of running Coal from 
Peach Orchard is but little over one-third of that from 
Pittsburgh. 

3d. Lumber for building Coal Boats at Pittsburgh costs 
$20 per thousand feet, and at Peach Orchard less than $10. 

4th. The risk of loss in running Coal Boats from Peach 
Orchard is much less than from Pittsburgh. There has 
never been a Coal Boat lost on the Big Sandy River , 
below Reach Orchard; and Pittsburgh pilots consider their 
boats safe, when they get to the mouth of Big Sandy. 

5th. The expense of digging and loading Coal is the 
same at Peach Orchard as at Pittsburgh. 



The above statements will stand the closest scrutiny of 
practical Coal men; and, if they are true, can any business 
man arrive at a conclusion different from mine, as to the 
intrinsic value of these lands? 

If my Coal can be dug and loaded as cheaply; if my 
boats for carrying it to market cost less; if they can be 
run to market with less risk; if the expense of running 
Coal to market is less; and if the Coal will sell for as much 
as Pittsburgh Coal, then is not the land out of which it is 
taken worth more than at Pittsburgh ? And if the lands 
are really worth more at Peach Orchard than at Pittsburgh, 
can it take long, by proper publication of facts, to make 
them sell and lease for more? 

Coal lands near Pittsburgh sell for $300 to $1,000 per 
acre, and lease for three-fourths of a cent per bushel for the 
Coal dug, A vein of Coal, 5 feet thick, gives about 200,- 
000 bushels per acre. 

Thus much I have said, as to the value of these lands in 
an unimproved condition. 

I have expended about $80,000 in buildings, tunnels, 
entries, etc., and think I have the best arranged Coal 
Works west of the Allegheny Mountains. 

I have 40 dwelling houses, a steam saw-mill, a steam 
grist-mill and carding machine, store house, shops, stables, 
etc. I have driven a tunnel through the hills, about a mile 
in length. I have over half a mile of Coal entries for 
rooms to work 100 diggers. My roads are all substantially 
built with heavy oak superstructure, and rails ironed with 
heavy, flat bar, railroad iron. Every thing is in complete 
order for loading from 6,000 to 8,000 bushels of Coal per day. 

I think I can satisfy any man acquainted with Coal 
business, that Coal can be put into market, from these 
works, for 2 cents per bushel less than it can be done for 
from Pittsburgh. 

My average nett profits during the four years I have 
been in the business, have been about 4 cents per bushel. 

These works and improvements are so situated and ar¬ 
ranged, that they may be carried on to any extent, without 
interfering with the sales or leasing of the unimproved part 
of the tract; and the unoccupied part of the tract may be 
so sub-divided as to make 50 coal cries to sell or lease. 


I have a charter from the Legislature of the State of 
Kentucky, under which a Company may be organized for 
conducting the present works, improving the unimproved 
lands, etc. This charter is very liberal in its provisions, 
and I annex a copy of it hereto. 

I also annex a map of a survey of the tract made by 
Henry Williams, Esq. WM. P. MELLEN. 

Peach Orchard, July, 1852. 


AN AC T 


To Incorporate the Peach Orchard Coal Company . 

Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky , That there shall be and is 
hereby established at Peach Orchard, in the county of Law¬ 
rence and Commonwealth aforesaid, a Company to be de¬ 
nominated the Peach Orchard Coal Company, with a capital 
of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be divided into 
shares of one hundred dollars each, to be subscribed and 
paid for in the manner hereinafter specified, which subscri¬ 
bers and stockholders shall be and hereby are created a 
body politic and corporate, by the name of the Peach Orch¬ 
ard Coal Company, from the time of the passage of this act 
until the first day of January, 1900; and by that name the 
said Company shall be competent to contract and be con¬ 
tracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, 
answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended in all 
courts and places, and in all matters whatsoever, with full 
power to themselves and their successors to acquire, hold, 
possess and enjoy such lands, rents, tenements and heredit¬ 
aments, goods, chattels, property and effects, as may be 
proper for conducting the business of mining and dealing in 
Coal, and to build such railroads for the conveyance of 
Coal to and upon the Big Sandy River; driving such tun¬ 
nels through the hills from the Coal beds to be worked, to 
said river; building such mills and buildings, and making 
all such other improvements in said county of Lawrence or 4 
elsewhere, upon the Big Sandy River, as may be necessary 
for properly conducting the business of said Company: and 




4 


also, to sell, alien, demise, and convey, lease, mortgage and 
pledge any real or personal property and effects of the said 
Company in such manner as may be necessary in transact¬ 
ing and facilitating the business of the said Company; and 
the said Company may have and use a common seal, and 
the same alter, amend, break and renew at pleasure; and 
they shall, also, have the power of making, executing and 
establishing such by-laws, rules and regulations as shall be 
necessary and proper for the good government of said Com¬ 
pany, and the prudent and efficient management of its 
affairs; provided the same be not inconsistent with the spirit 
of this act, nor contrary to law. 

Sec. 2. That the real and personal estate, business, pro¬ 
perty, funds and prudential concerns of said Company shall 
be under the direction, management and control of a Pres¬ 
ident and Six Directors; and after the first election, to be 
made as hereinafter specified, the stockholders shall hold a 
general meeting on the first Monday of June, annually, at 
such time and place, and under such rules and regulations 
as shall be specified by the by-laws of said Company; at 
which meeting the said officers shall be elected in such man¬ 
ner as shall be prescribed by said by-laws, for the term of 
one year, and until their successors are elected. 

Sec. 3. That at every election, and at all meetings of 
the stockholders, held under the provisions of this Act, 
each and every stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for 
each share of stock he may own; and any stockholder not 
personally present at any such election or meeting, may 
vote by proxy, such proxy being a stockholder attending 
such election or meeting, and presenting his authority in 
writing from his principal: provided that, in case it should 
happen that an election of President and Directors should 
not be made on the day when, by this Act, it should have 
been made, this corporation shall not for such cause be dis¬ 
solved, but it shall and may be lawful for such stockholders 
to make an election of President and Directors on any 
other day, in such manner as may be specified in the laws 
of said Company; and, in case of the death, resignation, or 
permanent absence of any one of said officers, his place 
may be filled by some stockholder, to be elected by a 
majority of the remaining members of the board. 


Sec. 4. That the President and Directors, or a majority 
ot them, shall have power to elect and appoint such agents, 
officers and servants under them, as they may deem proper; 
fix their compensation, define their powers, prescribe their 
duties, and remove them at pleasure. 

Sec. 5. That J. L. Hyatt, Hamilton Smith and S. F. 
Bullitt, of the city of Louisville ; J. W. Stevenson, J. B. 
Casey and J. H. Jamison, of the city of Covington, and 
William P. Mellen, Zattu Cushing and Archibald Borders, 
of the County of Lawrence, are hereby appointed and con¬ 
stituted commissioners to open books, and receive subscrip¬ 
tions for the capital stock of said Company, and to super¬ 
intend the election of the first Board of Directors, which 
shall consist of seven Stockholders, who, after their election 
shall elect one of their number to be President of the said 
Company, which President and Directors shall hold their 
offices until the first Monday in June after their election, 
and until their successors are elected, as herein before pro¬ 


vided for. 

Sec. 6 . That any of the above named Commissioners 
shall be competent to exercise the powers and perform the 
duties required of the said Commissioners, by this act. 
And they are hereby authorized at any time, after the 
passage of this act, by giving ten day’s previous notice 
thereof, in one paper printed in the city of Louisville, and 
one paper printed in the city of Covington, to open books 
for subscription, for the Capital Stock of said Company, at 
Louisville, Covington, and such other places as they may 
deem expedient; and to keep such books open from week 
to week, or close them at one time, and open them at 
another, as shall be most conducive to subscriptions for the 
entire amount of said Capital Stock; and whenever the 
whole amount of said stock, or five hundred shares thereof 
shall have been subscribed for, then the said Commissioners 


or a majority of them, shall notily the stockholders of the 
amount taken, and shall proceed to hold an election of 
seven Directors, upon ten day’s notice, in manner above 
specified, and said Commisioners or some three of them, 
shall preside at such election, and act as judges and in¬ 
spectors thereof. 

Sec. 7. That for every share of stock subscribed to the 


6 


said Company, the Commissioners or their agents shall re¬ 
ceive at the time of subscribing, or before the election of 
the first Board of Directors, the sum of twenty dollars; 
the residue of such subscription shall be paid in such in¬ 
stallments, and at such limes as may be required by the 
President and Directors of the Company—and if any stock¬ 
holder shall fail to pay any installment required to be paid 
as aforesaid, for thirty days from the time he shall have 
personal notice in writing of such requisitions; then the 
said President and Directors may, upon ten day’s notice to 
such delinquent stockholder, of the time and place of the 
sale, proceed to sell such share or shares belonging to such 
delinquent, at public auction, to the highest bidder; who, 
upon presentation of his certificate, of said purchase, shall 
be entitled to a transfer of the share or shares so purchased 
by him, upon the books of the said Company, and proceeds 
of such sale shall be applied towards the payment of the 
balance of the purchase money, for the shares so sold, and 
if there shall be a surplus after such payment, the same 
shall be paid over to such delinquent, but if there remain a 
balance due on account of the subscription for the shares 
so sold, then the company may sue for and recover the 
same. 

Sec. 8. The Stock of said company shall be assignable 
only on the books of said company, and shall be to all 
intents and purposes considered personal property, and no 
delinquent stockholder shall have a right to transfer any 
share of Stock which is not fully paid for, nor to vote at 
any meeting of the company on any share for which he 
may be delinquent; and all debts due from a stockholder to 
the Company shall be a lien upon the Stock owned by 
him. 

Sec. 9. That no Stockholder, after the first election of 
officers, of the said Company, shall vote at any election of 
the officers of said Company, upon any shares of Stock 
which shall not have been transferred on the books of the 
Company for at least sixty days previous to such election. 

Sec. 10. That the President and Directors shall from 
time to time make such dividends arising from the profits 
of the business of said Company as they may think proper. 
They may also make, alter, amend or annul such rules, 


7 


orders, and by-laws, for the government of the said Corpo¬ 
ration, its agents, officers and servants, as they, or a majority 
of them, may from time to time deem expedient, provided 
that the same be not contrary to law, or to the spirit of this 
Act. GEO. W. JOHNSON, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives . 

BEN. EDWARDS GREY, 
Speaker of the Senate . 
By the Governor, JOHN L. HELM. 

Jno. W. Finnell, Secretary of State. 

Approved 10th day of February, 1851. 


Office of the Secretary of State, > 
Frankfort, Feb. 13, 1852. $ 

I, John W. Finnell, Secretary of State for the Common¬ 
wealth of Kentucky ? certify that the foregoing six and a 
half pages contain a true and perfect copy of an act entitled 
“an act to incorporate the Peach Orchard Coal Company,” 
approved Feb. 10, 1851, the original enrolled bill being 
now on file in my office. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name 
and affixed the seal of the State, the day and year above 
written. 

John W. Finnell, 

| Seal.] Secretary of State . 


Proposition for Organization of Company. 

It is proposed to organize a company, under the foregoing 
charter, upon the following plan and conditions, viz.: 

The whole land and coal tract, with all the buildings and 
improvements mentioned in the foregoing “Statement* &c ” 
to be put in at cost, say $80,000. This, with an additional 
amount of $70,000 for a working capital, and for further 
improvement of the unoccupied Coal veins, to make up the 
capital stock, §150,000, divided into 1500 shares of $100 
each. If any additional stock be sold, the proceeds of sales 
to be divided upon the original 1500 shares, in the same 
manner as other income or profits. 



8 


Each share shall be entitled to 200 bushels of coal per 
annum, at 8c. per bushel, delivered within the city limits, if 
taken from boats, or at 9lc. from yard. This is $6 on a 
share less than coal at 11c. per bushel costs consumers, 
which amounts to G per cent, per annum interest, on the 
cost of the share. 

From my experience during the last four years, I can 
safely state, that the cost of my coal in boats here, cannot 
exceed 5c. per bushel. The cost of delivering cannot exceed 
2lc. per bushel. This leaves Jc. per bushel profit, on coal 
delivered to stockholders. 

Estimating 10c. per bushel as the regular price for sales 
to customers not stockholders, gives a profit of 21c. per 
bushel upon such sales. 

The present works are prepared to load 0000 to 8000 
bushels per day. I think 1,500,000 bushels may be consid¬ 
ered as the average annual quantity that may be run from 
these works. 

Taking these estimates as a basis, the business from these 
works should pay as follows:—200 bushels on each share, 
for 1500 shares, is 300,000 bushels, which atlc. per bushel 
profit, amounts to $1500; and leaves J,200,000 bushels 
for sale to customers-at a profit of 21c. per bushel, which 
amounts to $30,000; making $31,500 profits, or upwards 
of 20 per cent, per annum, to be divided upon the stock, in 
addition to the $6 on each share saved in the cost of the coal. 

By referring to the map of surveys, &c., it will be seen 
that these works can be carried on as above stated, without 
interfering with the leasing, or sales of that part of the tract 
lying above “Miller’s Branch.’’ There may be as many 
openings made in these hills as can be leased or sold. I feel 
confident that in the course of three or four years a sufficient 
number of tenants may be found to insure the mining of 
5,000,000 bushels per year in addition to the Company’s 
own works. The uniform rent near Pittsburgh is Je. per 
bushel. This on 5,000,000 bushels would amount to 
$37,500 per annum, in addition to the above. My reasons 
for supposing I can find tenants for this or a much larger 
amount, may be found in my “Statement &c.,” to which this 
is appended. Wm. P. MELLEN. 

Cincinnati, September, 1852. 







